Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 34.djvu/75

 by those who little knew him cold and unsympathetic. He was a member of the Royal Asiatic and Numismatic Societies, and of the Asiatic Society of Paris.

Sir Moses Montefiore by his will not only named Loewe one of his executors, but directed that he should be entrusted with all his diaries and other private papers to enable him to undertake the task of writing a biography of Lady Montefiore. This naturally became a biography of Sir Moses also. It was completed in June 1888, and published in 1890 as 'Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore. Edited by L. Loewe,' 2 vols. 8vo.

In 1841 Loewe prepared an English translation of 'Efés Dammîm,' a series of conversations at Jerusalem between a patriarch of the Greek church and a chief rabbi of the Jews, written in Hebrew by J. B. Levinsohn in 1839, on the occasion of the revival of the blood accusation in Soslow, Poland. The translation was extensively circulated, chiefly at the cost of Montefiore. In 1842 Loewe translated the first two conversations in 'Matteh Dan' by Chacham David Nieto, under the title of 'The Rod of Judgment.' He likewise published 'Observations on a unique Cufic Gold Coin, issued by Mustali, tenth Caliph of the Fatimite Dynasty,' 8vo, London, 1849, and 'A Dictionary of the Circassian Language,' 8vo, London, 1854, originally printed in the 'Transactions of the Philological Society.'



LOEWENTHAL or LÖWENTHAL, JOHANN JACOB (1810–1876), chessplayer, son of an Hungarian merchant, was born at Buda-Pesth in July 1810. He was educated at the gymnasium of his native town, and received his first chess lessons from Szen, the noted Hungarian player, then a clerk in the archives at Pesth. Though a non-combatant in the revolutions of 1849, Loewenthal was an ardent follower of Kossuth, and held a civil appointment under his administration; he was in consequence expelled from Austro-Hungary after the patriot's downfall in 1849, and sought refuge in the United States of America, where he contributed an interesting account of his sojourn to a volume entitled 'The Book of the First American Congress.' In 1851 Loewenthal visited England, in order to take part in a chess tournament, and from that date he permanently resided in London, 'taking an active part in every organised movement for the advancement of chess.' He became chess editor of the 'Illustrated News of the World' and of the 'Era,' taking a prominent part in the chess problem tourney set afoot by the last-mentioned paper, of which he issued an account, both in English and in German, London and Leipzig, 1857. He welcomed Morphy to London in 1858, accepted with a good grace a crushing defeat in a match to which he had promptly challenged him, and published in 1860 'Morphy's Games of Chess, with Analytical and Critical Notes,' forming an interesting and instructive account of the brilliant American's meteoric European campaign. He was appointed manager and foreign correspondent of the great London chess congress of 1862, in which the first prize was taken by Anderssen, Loewenthal tying with Mr. Blackburne for the eighth place. He wrote a full account of the congress for the Bohn Series, German edit., Berlin, 1864; new edit., Bohn, 1889. He edited the 'Chess Player's Magazine' from its commencement in 1863 until its cessation in 1867, and was, from 1865 to 1869, manager of the British Chess Association, of which Lord Lyttelton was president. He was also for some years subsequent to 1852 secretary to the St. George's Chess Club, and from 1857 to 1864 president of the St. James's Chess Club. Loewenthal, who became a naturalised Englishman, had a highly polished manner and mixed freely in good society. He was a friend and frequent opponent at chess of [q. v.], under whose influence he joined the Roman catholic church. He died, unmarried, at St. Leonards on 20 July 1876.

Loewenthal was an assiduous student of chess; his knowledge was great, his analytical power remarkable, and his notes on the games of Morphy and others admirable. As a player he takes a high place in the second rank of masters. Like [q. v.], a player of about equal power, he was subject to constitutional nervousness when engaged in matches, and his play consequently suffered. A large number of Loewenthal's games are included in the 'Chess Player's Magazine,' the 'Chess Player's Chronicle,' Walker's 'Thousand Games,' and other collections.



LOFFT, CAPELL (1751–1824), miscellaneous writer, was son of Christopher Lofft, private secretary of Sarah, duchess of Marlborough, and Anne, sister of Edward Capell, the editor of Shakespeare. He was born in Boswell Court, Carey Street, London, on